Chapter 5 Wen #2
“It means something unexpected happened and they didn’t know what to think. You know how you get scared when you see a spider because you don’t know if it’ll hurt you?”
He nodded.
“It’s like that. They just didn’t know what to think. But you’re not bad. You’re wonderful and perfect and I love you more than anything in the whole world.”
“I got really scared last night,” he admitted. “Everything was looking at me and asking questions and I felt weird inside.”
“Weird how?”
“Like everyone’s feelings were in my tummy. All loud and pokey.”
Right. The empath abilities. He’d been feeling everyone’s emotions on top of everything else. Because apparently my kid needed more complications.
“And then everything got really scary and then...” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Then things started flying. And the holes opened up. And I couldn’t make them stop.”
“The holes are called portals. And it’s okay that you couldn’t stop them. You didn’t know you could do that before, did you?”
He shook his head vigorously. “No. I can only do my ears. See?”
He concentrated, his face scrunching up with effort, and his ears shifted into fuzzy wolf ears that stood up from his head, twitching slightly. Then he held up his hands and claws extended from his fingertips, just the tips, not full paws like last night.
“They get fuzzy,” he explained, touching one ear. “And my fingers pointy. But that it all I knew, Mama.”
“That’s very good control.” I clapped, genuinely impressed. “You’re doing so well. I’m so proud of you.”
He made the ears and claws disappear again, the shift smooth. Then his face fell. “But the scary stuff…”
“We’ll figure it out together, okay?”
“Can you make it go away? So I can’t do it anymore?”
The hope in his voice made my eyes sting. “I don’t know, sweetheart. But we’ll learn how to control it. So it only happens when you want it to.”
“Everyone thinks I’m scary now. Those people...” He looked down at his hands. “They said I was bad things. I heard them.”
“They were wrong. Very, very wrong. And they were mean. We don’t listen to mean people, remember? Mean people’s opinions go straight in the garbage where they belong.”
He was quiet for a moment, then looked up at me. “You love me? After I made things fly and scared people?”
I held his face in my hands, making him look directly at me.
“Always. Forever. Nothing could ever change that. You hear me? Nothing in any world could make me stop loving you. Even if you made a million things fly. Even if you opened a thousand portals. Even if you accidentally turned the whole castle upside down and we all had to walk on the ceiling. I would still love you.”
“That’s a LOT of things, Mama.”
“I’d still love you. Every single time. You’re stuck with me, kid.”
“Forever?”
“Forever and ever.”
He stared at me for a long moment, searching my face. Whatever he saw there must have reassured him because he finally smiled. Hesitant and a little wobbly, but real.
“Really?”
“Really really. Cross my heart.”
His smile grew bigger and he threw his arms around my neck, hugging me so tight I could barely breathe. I held him close, feeling tears prick my eyes.
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. So much.”
Over his shoulder, I saw movement. Mal was approaching across the garden, looking like he’d barely slept despite the few hours he’d gotten. Rumpled clothes, dark circles, the whole exhausted king aesthetic. But he was smiling at us softly.
“Look who’s awake,” I said.
Killian turned and his face lit up. “Papa!”
Mal reached the bench and sat down heavily beside us, like his legs had finally given out. “That was beautifully handled, little mate,” he whispered to me.
“He needed reassurance.”
“You always know exactly what he needs. You are remarkable.”
“I’m running on spite, caffeine, and sheer maternal stubbornness. But thank you.”
Killian climbed off my lap and into Mal’s without hesitation. “Papa! Look! I can do my ears! Watch!”
He concentrated and his wolf ears appeared, fuzzy and adorable.
“They’re beautiful, pup.” Mal’s voice was full of genuine pride. “I am very proud of you. That is perfect shifting.”
Killian beamed, making his ears disappear and reappear a few times. Then he showed Mal the claws, extending them carefully and retracting them smoothly.
“See? I can do it whenever I want. But I’m only supposed to do it when you or Mama say it’s okay. Right?”
“That is correct. Very good remembering the rules.”
Killian glowed under the praise, sitting up straighter. For a moment, he looked just like his normal self.
I watched them together, warmth and worry tangled up in my chest. Over Killian’s head, I caught Mal’s eye.
“What does it mean? Why does he have powers like that? Wolves don’t have magic. This shouldn’t be possible. Unless...” I paused, a thought occurring to me. “Maybe it’s because of me?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I opened the first portal. That Halloween spell five years ago.” I kept my voice low so Killian wouldn’t hear.
He was focused on making his ears appear and disappear, entertaining himself.
“Maybe something happened then? Maybe traveling between worlds affects genetics? Magic? Maybe I somehow scrambled his DNA by going through portals while I was pregnant?”
“It is possible.”
“Great. Wonderful. I’ve potentially c-u-r-s-e-d my own child with interdimensional magic because I couldn’t resist a spooky spell on Halloween.” I rubbed my temples. “Mother of the year award, right here. Should I add that to the W-H-O-R-E accusations or is that a separate category?”
“You did not c-u-r-s-e him.” He said. Killian was still too emotional, so being careful of what we talked about around him was the least we could do.
“But being born to someone who travels through portals, that might change things in ways we don’t understand. Maybe I’m basically a walking magical contamination zone and everyone I love gets weird powers as a side effect.”
“All possibilities we should explore. I sent someone to the library before dawn to research.”
“Research what exactly?”
“Hybrids. Unusual powers. Any documented cases of wolves with abilities beyond shifting.”
“So we’re hoping some medieval scholar wrote a helpful pamphlet called ‘So Your Kid Opens Portals: A Parent’s Guide’?”
“Something like that.”
“I’m afraid of what we’ll find out,” I admitted in a whisper. “What if it’s something…? What if there’s no way to help him?”
“So am I,” Mal said quietly. “But we will face it together. Whatever it is.”
Before we could say more, I noticed a guard approaching across the garden. Not Torin. Torin was visible in the distance near the east gate, watching over us like he always did. This was a different guard, walking quickly.
“Your Majesties,” he said, bowing. “The scholar urgently requests audience. He says it’s important. About the prince’s abilities.”
Mal and I exchanged looks. That was fast.
“Tell him we will come at once,” Mal said.
The guard bowed and retreated. Mal stood, movements careful, and offered me his hand. I took it, feeling his worry pulse through our bond. He was as confused and frightened as I was.
Together, we pulled Killian up between us, each of us taking one of his hands.
“Are we going somewhere?” he asked.
“Just to talk to someone who might help us understand what happened last night.”
“Okay.” He accepted this easily, trusting us completely.
We started walking toward the castle, Killian between us, holding both our hands and swinging them slightly like he always did.
“Are we in trouble?” Killian asked suddenly, his voice going uncertain again.
“No, sweetheart,” I said immediately, squeezing his hand.
“Never,” Mal added, squeezing his other hand.
Killian seemed to accept this, going back to swinging our hands. But I could feel the tension in Mal’s grip, could sense his apprehension.
Whatever the scholar had found, it was going to change everything. I could feel it. I just hoped it wouldn’t make things worse. Though given how last night had gone, I wasn’t sure how much worse things could actually get.
Famous last words, probably.